It’s published •update
The European Parliament’s political leaders agreed on Thursday to establish a working group within the Budget Control Committee (continued) to scrutinize how the Commission is funding non-governmental organizations.
The group includes 13 MEPs, chaired by German MP Niklas Herbst, who includes two co-Laporter officials, the Central Right European People’s Party and right-wing European conservatives and reformists, parliamentary sources told Euronows.
The decision was accused of German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag of secretly paying 700,000 euros to promote the bloc’s climate policy after a spat over funding for environmental NGOs by the European Commission. The committee denied signing a “confidential agreement” and claims it is using a high degree of transparency in funding NGOs.
The rights and far-right groups of the European Parliament are pushing for establishing a committee to establish an investigation committee to clarify the issue, but their requests were voted at the Presidential Congress (COP), a weekly meeting of leaders of political groups in Parliament.
Instead, the COP approved a working group proposed by the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in Parliament, and ultimately supported by European conservatives and reformists (ECRs) and European patriots (PFEs).
All other groups of the so-called “pro-European majority” (socialists, liberals, greens) were opposed to both the investigation committee and the working group, but the latter was supported by the so-called “Venezuelan majority”, a chamber alliance seen by the EPP, working with other right-wing groups.
The working group is an ad hoc structure that allows the committee of the European Parliament to follow up on conducting research and research on highly specific and time-defined issues.
This will have a six-month mission, and may then publish a final report and propose changes to the rules.
“The working group will go through all funding agreements (between the committee and the NGO) to see if there is interference or if it is foreseen that some of the performance contained in the funds is the exact purpose of the MEP.
“It’s a less invasive instrument than the investigation committee, but we’re still happy,” he added.
According to internal sources from the EPP, the working group was preferred by the investigative committee because the former focuses on scrutinizing the committee’s future actions rather than focusing on what was historically wrong.
The COP also decided to stop negotiations on the “Green Claims Directive,” a law designed by the European Commission to protect consumers from green washing by requiring businesses to demonstrate green claims.
Parliament adopted its position on the directive in March 2024, which was to negotiate a final text with member states, but is now asking the committee to withdraw it.
The decision was also supported by the European People’s Party with far-right groups.
